Thursday, February 27, 2014

Hall of Fame! Tonight's dinner was exactly what I needed and it helped that my preteen was playing Imagine Dragons really loudly. Everything was just right from the Greek flatbread to the chicken to the yogurt dill sauce we got from Costco. Easy dinner. Delicious dinner. Great background music.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

This tandoori marinade is excellent. So good that I'm going back to Natural Grocers today to pick up a few to have on hand. We enjoyed our grilled tandoori chicken in some whole wheat flatbreads from Trader Joe's with their garlic cucumber sauce. I could eat these every meal for a week.

Blend 2 tablespoons yogurt and tandoori marinade. Marinate overnight. Broil or barbeque evenly on each side until cooked. Garnish with cilantro and lemon slices. Serve with naan bread or over rice with chutney....or do what we did and enjoy it in a flatbread with garlic cucumber sauce or a cucumber dill sauce.

Monday, February 10, 2014

I've always wanted to try a cuban sandwich and tonight was the night. They were a hit. My family enjoyed theirs on nice fresh ciabatta rolls but I had mine on a toasted whole wheat english muffin. My youngest daughter asked if we could have them again tomorrow- I think it was the roll that won her over.Next morning important update: I just had a sandwich using my leftovers but with sweet pickle relish instead of the dill pickle. This took the sandwich to almost Hall of Fame!

Heat grill. Mix the cumin, oregano, salt and pepper; sprinkle over both sides of pork cutlets.
Grill cutlets and onions 3 minutes, turning cutlets and onion slices over once, until cutlets are cooked through and onions are slightly charred and crisp-tender.
Fill each roll with 2 slices each cheese and ham, 1 cutlet and 1/4 of the onions and pickles.
Return to grill for 1 or 2 minutes to melt cheese, if desired.

What I have to say- As the cutlets and onions grilled, I opened up our ciabatta rolls and laid them on a cookie sheet and put a slice of Swiss on each then baked them at 300 degrees. When the cutlets and onions were finished cooking I put the sandwiches together.

I have cooked up a storm over the past few days! I've been eyeing the bag of peanut butter chips in my pantry for a while now and decided this could be the perfect recipe for today, after all this recipe got 5 stars on allrecipes and my oven was still hot after baking these. They cooked up beautifully and who can resist chocolate and peanut butter?!

Beat butter, shortening, white sugar and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Beat the first egg into the butter until completely blended then beat in the vanilla with the second egg. Mix flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt in another bowl; mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just incorporated. Fold in peanut butter chips, mixing just enough to evenly combine.

When I was browsing the Grocery Outlet I saw this cooking sauce packet and decided to give it shot for .99 cents. Now I know I need to go back and grab a dozen more! I cooked up some sliced chicken breast in the cooking sauce and we put the chicken on tostadas and in burritos. Delicious!

Saturday, February 8, 2014

My kids always expect dinner, scriptures, dessert. Tonight's dessert turned into a PARTY when we made real snowy snow cones! My kiddos used regular snow cone syrup until I realized we didn't have any sugar free for me so I pulled out the Torani's. They were SOOO good!

Ribs that fall off the bone and melt in your mouth...these are outrageously good. Ours are in the oven right now and they smell incredible and are making everyone hungry. Just don't cook them as directed. Cook them the way my parents taught me. See below.

store bought favorite: curly's hickory smoked and seasoned meaty baby back pork ribs
Get them at Costco. Tip: They're on sale right now. I think they cost $12.95. The directions will tell you to cook them at 375 for 20 to 25 minutes. Don't do that. Instead do this:

Heat your oven to 300 degrees. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil. Place the ribs on the foil then cover the cookie sheet with foil. Place in the oven and cook for 3 hours. Enjoy and don't be ashamed to lick your fingers...you're in the privacy of your own home for Pete's sake.

Friday, February 7, 2014

This was on our dinner menu for this Saturday but we unexpectedly got a big dumping of snow- enough for school to be cancelled for two days so I needed some good comfort food. Comfort food this is! I loved it. It's spicy yet the orange peppers and dried fruit give it just the right amount of sweetness...and you only have to dirty clean one pot. It's a one pot wonder!

Heat oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken generously with salt and pepper then lightly with ground cloves. Add chicken to skillet and saute until brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

I posted this recipe a few years ago and forgot about it because it was tricky to find so I thought it was time to update this super yummy recipe. Back when we tried it the first time we declared it Hall of Fame and it was just as good this time around. It's definitely the sauce. This time for the sauce I used half light mayo and half nonfat sour cream and it worked like a charm for a lower fat version. creole chicken wraps (Food Network Magazine, October 2011)For the Rub:2 tablespoons paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Make the rub; mix all the ingredients in a small bowl with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Prepare the wraps: Whisk the mayo and 1 tablespoon of the rub in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Preheat a grill to medium high. Toss the chicken with rub. Oil the grill; grill chicken until marked, about 6 minutes. Turn and grill until cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board. Wipe the grill clean and brush with more oil. Lay the bread dough on the grill, then brush with the spiced mayonnaise and top with mozzarella. Grill until the bottom is marked, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board. Slice the chicken and arrange down the center of each piece of bread. Top with the tomatoes, onion and lettuce. Roll up and wrap with parchment paper or foil to seal.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Sometimes you don't realize how much you depend on something until you don't have it...or you're out of it. I've been out of Pappy's for over a week because I forgot it the last time I went to the grocery store. It's my go-to seasoning when I grill chicken and I grill chicken at least twice a week so I can have it on hand to toss into a salad for lunch or whatever else I'm in the mood for. I use it all the time on veggies too.

This soup is a variation from my creamy chicken corn chowder recipe and it was delicious. All I did was change the brand of picante sauce and replace the corn with brown jasmine rice AND cook it in the slow cooker which made it super easy to make. I was perfectly happy with this soup and served it with quesadillas. Oh, one more thing- I only used half the amount of cream cheese and the good news is it wasn't missed. I am glad to have enough leftover for lunch today!

Put the chicken, broth, onion, garlic and green chiles in a crock pot. Cook on high for 6 hours. Add cream cheese and brown jasmine rice and continue to cook for a couple more hours. Remove the chicken and shred. While the chicken is out, use a whisk to mix up the soup making sure to break up the cream cheese until smooth. Add the shredded chicken. Serve with a sprinkling of cheddar cheese.

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I'm happily married with four young kiddos and at the end of the day we all want the same thing- a delicious home cooked meal. This blog is my personal quest for favorite recipes.

My goal was accomplished! I spent 2011 cooking up all of my old favorites and made some new favorites along the way. I had so much fun I can't stop now so I'll continue to try new recipes and post the keepers. Here's to another delicious year!